Enchilada sauce is one of my very favorite things, ever. I love when it soaks into tortillas while baking and makes everything all tangy, spicy, and good. Mmmmm. 🤤 But when the selection of enchilada sauce at my local grocery store was less than impressive, I decided it was high time to make some red enchilada sauce myself. This Easy Red Enchilada Sauce is a total game-changer and now I can never go back to store-bought. It has ten times more flavor than anything I’ve ever had from a can and literally takes minutes to make. It’s a total winner.
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Quick Method, Big Flavor
This EASY enchilada sauce is not an authentic enchilada sauce made with dried chile peppers that you’ll find in Texas or Mexico, but it’s a quick and easy version that anyone can whip up in their kitchen using basic pantry staples. But I promise, once you taste it, you won’t regret the shortcuts. It’s still bursting with flavor and you’ll want to pour it over everything. If you want a made-from-scratch with dried chiles enchilada sauce, check out this Authentic Enchilada Sauce recipe from Isabel Eats.
How Spicy is Red Enchilada Sauce?
The “chili powder” listed in the recipe below is a store-bought mix of spices used to season chili. It is not straight chile powder, or pure ground chile peppers, which can be extremely spicy. The brand of chili powder I use is completely mild, but other brands can sometimes carry some heat. If you are using a spicy chili powder, simply reduce or eliminate the cayenne powder from this recipe to compensate. The heat level of the recipe below, using McCormick’s chili powder, is medium spicy, like a medium salsa.
How to Use Enchilada Sauce
Enchilada sauce is not just for Enchiladas! Here are some other great ways to use red enchilada sauce:
- as a simmer sauce for meat (in a slow cooker or skillet)
- as a rich sauce to smother burritos
- combined with eggs and fried tortillas for Migas
- combined with sour cream to make a creamy and spicy dip
- as a replacement for taco sauce
- a soup base (Chicken Enchilada Soup or 30 Minute Posole)
- to sauce up casseroles like Mexican lasagna, enchilada casserole, or Taco Stuffed Shells
But if you do want to use it for enchiladas, make sure to check out these great enchilada recipes: Cheese Enchiladas, Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchiadas, Black Bean and Avocado Enchiladas, and Weeknight Enchiladas.
Easy Red Enchilada Sauce
Servings 8 ¼ cup eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.10)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 2 cups water ($0.00)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.27)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp salt or to taste ($0.03)
Instructions
- Add the cooking oil, flour, and chili powder to a sauce pot. Turn the heat on to medium and whisk the ingredients together. Continue to whisk as the mixture begins to bubble. Whisk and cook the mixture for one minute once it begins bubbling.
- After one minute, whisk in the water, tomato paste, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until smooth. Allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer it will begin to thicken slightly.
- Starting with a 1/2 teaspoon, add salt to taste. I used about 3/4 teaspoon total. The sauce is now ready to use!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Enchilada Sauce – Step By Step Photos
Start by adding 2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp chili powder, and 2 Tbsp oil to a pot. I use McCormick’s chili powder, which is not spicy, just flavorful, so don’t be frightened by the large quantity in the recipe. All of the heat comes from the cayenne pepper.
Whisk these ingredients together and allow them to come up to a bubble over medium heat, whisking the whole time. Whisk and cook for one minute. This will toast the flour and chili powder, adding to the flavor depth and making sure that the flour doesn’t taste like paste.
After one minute, add 3oz. tomato paste, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and whisk in 2 cups water (or broth).
Let the sauce come up to a simmer and it will begin to thicken. Taste the sauce and add salt to your liking. Start with about 1/2 teaspoon and add more if needed. The salt will really help bring out the flavors. If you’re using broth in place of water, you might not need to add any at all.
And now you’re good to go! Drizzle this thick and flavorful enchilada sauce over all of your favorite foods and enjoy!
I made the Easy Red Enchilada Sauce and Chicken Enchilada Pasta this week. Can the extra cup of sauce be frozen?
It tends to separate after thawing, but if you’re going to toss it anyway I would suggest freezing it and then thawing to see if the texture changes bother you.
I LOVE this enchilada sauce. It’s so perfect! I just have one question, Beth; how long does it keep and how can I store it? I’d love to make a big batch and stash a couple of jars away for last-minute dinners.
I tried freezing it and that doesn’t work well (it separates). All of my other portions I’ve used immediately, so I’m not sure how long it lasts in the refrigerator. Probably a 5-7 days?
Oh my goodness….this is so delicious. I will never buy the can again. I used olive oil because it’s what I had on hand…I also omited the cayenne because I’m cooking for kiddos as well. Just wow. So good.
Can you substitute the vegetable oil for olive oil?
Yep!
Long-time follower, first time commenting!
Beth – you have no idea how HAPPY this sauce made me! I got diagnosed with a wheat and corn allergy last year so many beloved recipes got purged from my diet. And I couldn’t find a single store brand of enchilada sauce that didn’t have a corn derivative in it.
I made your sauce last night (with potato flour and 1T ancho + 1T reg chili pwd) and was blown away! Might have started eating it out of the pan straight :)
Threw half of it with ground hamburger and cheese, stuffed some bell peppers, and then drenched the whole thing in the rest of the sauce. Was seriously doing a happy dance when they came out of the oven!
Cannot wait to adapt your chorizo-sweet potato recipe next!
Wow, I got hungry just reading that! And I love the idea of potato flour, thanks for sharing it! I have a lot of people ask me what they can replace the flour with, so I’m glad to know that works. Thanks!
This recipe is so easy and so very tasty. I’ve used it multiple times. I usually double the recipe Thank you for sharing it
This is so delicious!! I will definitely be making this again.
Definitely going to give this a try. Store bought enchilada sauce is a bit pricey. I have been using Macayo brand enchilada sauce and add a can of cream of chicken soup which reduces the “grainy” texture of the sauce.
I used this sauce to make your sweet potato and chorizo enchiladas, and it was great. I especially like that I had all the ingredients at home, even after a week long trip!
Thanks for this recipe. Thanks for the pictures. In step one, the ratio of liquid to solids didn’t seem right enough to get anything to “bubble”, but I saw from the pictures we are just browning the oil and flour/chili powder. I added some brown sugar because it wasn’t quite sweet enough for my taste. Very easy, better than store bought, and better for you.
How I wish I had discovered this recipe sooner. I just used it today and my enchiladas turned out the best I’ve ever tasted (even better than at the hundreds of Mexican restaurants in which I’ve eaten).
I’ve been making enchiladas for years, using the canned sauce. Sometimes it’s hard to find. It’s always overpriced. This recipe is easy to follow and the results are much richer than canned. Remember, in the final step, add salt to taste as the recipe recommends. I didn’t need to use the full amount. Also, you’ll want to double this recipe (as I did) to make a 9 x 13 pan of six or seven enchiladas covered in sauce. Be sure to use corn tortillas! (Prep tip: zap each tortilla individually for 10 seconds in the microwave to soften them before filling and rolling up.)
I love this recipie. My enchiladas come out perfect with this sauce. And the best part is, it’s not expensive at all.
Thank you so much for posting it up for everyone to see.
I love all your recipes! My boyfriend and I only cook from your list of delicious recipes every week. I want to make your famous enchiladas with rotisserie chicken, but my boyfriend and I preferr a green verde sauce instead of a red enchiladas sauce. Do you have your own homemade recipe for that sauce as well?
I don’t… YET. I want to make one, but I don’t have a good source for the tomatillos yet.
This makes me glad I live in Arizona. I can’t imagine not being able to find tomatillos!
Awesome! I subbed chicken stock (cuz I had it) for the water, wisked the flour into the stock and left out the oil. It’s got a nice kick! Flavors meld nicely and it tastes even better the next day.
I haven’t bough enchilada sauce in a year. This recipe is great. I tried a lot of other enchilada sauce recipes and did not like them, so I thought I would forever have to buy it. I didn’t like that plan because it is so expensive. Plus this recipe allows me to tweak things to my family’s tastes and I always have everything on hand. Thanks!